New Bluecity electric car sharing scheme to launch in February
Bluepoint London, the operators of Source London, plans to put thousands of electric cars onto the streets of the capital from next year
A new electric car sharing scheme will launch in London early next year and aims to put around 3000 electric cars onto the streets of the capital by 2019 as part of a £100 million project.The Bluecity service will operate in a similar fashion to the existing 'Boris Bike' scheme, and is being backed by the French Bolloré group, which also owns BluepointLondon, which currently operates the Source London EV charging network.The scheme will use Bolloré’s Bluecar, which uses the firm’s own lithium metal polymer battery technology that has also supplied to Citroën for use in the new e-Mehari electric car.Each four-seat Bluecar is built by Renault at its Dieppe factory and comes with a digital instrument display, satellite navigation, which shows the location and state of available charging stations, and telematics services which link drivers directly with an operator. The cars are capable of travelling around 150 miles on a single charge.Bolloré already operates similar car-sharing schemes in Paris, Lyon and Bordeaux in France, and a small-scale service in Indianapolis in the US. The flagship scheme in Paris currently uses 3600 Bluecars, with plans to grow to 4000 in 2016. Each car in the scheme is used around 14 times per day, with each journey lasting an average of 37 minutes.Figures from BluePointLondon show that the Parisia

New Hyundai i20 WRC revealed ahead of 2016 World Rally Championship
Korean manufacturer reveals both its new five-door WRC machine and its ambition to beat dominant Volkswagen in the fight for next year's titles
The new Hyundai i20 WRC that will form the basis of the Korean manufacturer’s assault on the 2016 World Rally Championship has been unveiled in Germany.Having shelved plans to use the new three-door i20 Coupé bodystyle, the 2016 challenger has a five-door body. The car in this form will be used for a single season before the WRC technical regulations undergo a major overhaul for 2017.The i20 WRC is equipped with a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine that produces air-restricted maximums of 300bhp at 6000rpm and 295lb ft at 5000rpm. It has a six-speed sequential gearbox and is four-wheel drive.Hyundai has achieved one victory in its two seasons in the WRC, with Thierry Neuville triumphing in Germany in 2014. In 2015 it scored four podium positions but no wins, although a lot of the team’s efforts were focused on the 2016 car, which has undergone a year-long test and development programme.Almost 5000 miles of testing have been completed so far and Hyundai claims the car has already “proven to be quicker than its predecessor”.The team said its ambitions for next season were to “fight at the front in every stage and to mount a heightened championship assault”.Insight - how Hyundai makes a rally car jump at 120mphTeam principal Michel Na

Nissan to unveil new wireless charging system at Geneva motor show
Preview of Japanese manufacturer's Fuel Station of the Future concept hints that it is putting an emphasis on under-car wireless charging systems
Nissan will unveil its vision of a high-performance wireless charging system for electric vehicles at next year’s Geneva motor show.The system - called ‘Fuel Station of the Future’ - is previewed in a video clip in which a Nissan Leaf pulls up to a kerb and automatically begins recharging via a device mounted in the road underneath the car.Wireless charging systems are already available, but the technology has been slow to evolve, resulting in lengthy charging times compared with conventional charging via cables.Last month, however, Nissan showed off a 7kW wireless charging device that could easily accommodate overnight charging even for larger battery packs such as the 60kW pack that is currently in development at the company’s research and development base in Atsugi, Japan.Such a battery pack – expected to be installed in the next-generation Leaf – could give a full-charge driving range of up to 500km (310 miles).Nissan is starting trials of EVs equipped with wireless charging equipment, with the tests expected to run for at least five years, with wireless charging expected to become more commonplace within a decade. The company wants to reach a point where “EV charg

VW emissions scandal: Nine VW vehicles have false CO2 ratings
Audi, Seat, Skoda and VW close to concluding CO2 investigations; first models affected announced
The VW Group has announced that it is close to concluding its investigation into false CO2 measurements, and says that far fewer vehicles than the original 800,000 believed to be affected will be recategorised.In a move that could be interpreted as an attempt to head off compensation claims, VW also says that no fixes to any of the cars will be required, and, as such, that the real-world fuel economy figures of the vehicles will remain the same.A VW Group statement said that the nine affected VW vehicles - totalling 36,000 cars globally - will be reclassified by Christmas. These are specific versions of the VW Polo, VW Scirocco, VW Jetta, VW Golf Convertible, VW Passat Alltrack and VW Passat.The statement said: "The deviations found... amount to a few grams of CO2 on average, corresponding to increased cycle combustion in the NEDC of approximately 0.1 to 0.2 litres per 100 kilometres." Every 0.1 litre per 100km equates to a rise of 2.32g/km of CO2 output, and Autocar understands that test work is ongoing. As a result, VW has not announced the size of the CO2 changes to each specific vehicle, but it has reiterated that no UK owner will be hit by back taxes.VW estimates that affected vehicles count for 36,000 vehicle sales this year, or 0.5% of VW sales. All recategorisation work will be conducted by a neutral organisation under independent supervision.Skoda has said that it does not believe any of its vehicles are affected by the CO2 issues. In a statement, Audi said "there are no Audi vehicles" on the list.Seat

"2015 has been a year to remember, but 2016 is year of the Brit"
Opinion
9 Dec, 2015
Dieselgate scandal may have overshadowed a great 2015, but 2016 will be the year Britain reaffirms its industry dominance, says Steve Fowler

2016 Hyundai Genesis G90 - specs and pictures
Hyundai reveals the first model that will wear the Genesis badge, due out by the end of the year
The 2016 Hyundai Genesis G90 has been revealed, ahead of sales starting in Korea and a large number of other regions - but the company has ruled out sales in Europe for the time being.The range-topping G90 saloon, which is called the EQ900 in Korea, is the first of six new Genesis models that will be rolled out over the next five years. It will be offered with a choice of three petrol engines - a 315PS 3.8-litre V6, a 3.3-litre twin-turbocharged V6 with 370PS, and a 5.0-litre V8 producing 425PS. All models are rear-wheel drive as standard, but four-wheel drive is available as an option. There's a single transmission in the line-up: an eight-speed automatic.Hyundai claims the range-topping V8 G90 can reach 62mph from rest in 5.7sec, and that the new twin-turbo V6 can manage the same feat in 6.2sec.The new Genesis comes with a more striking look, including a larger grille than that used on the outgoing car, and sharp lines which run the full length of the body. The Genesis design department is now headed up by former Volkswagen Group designer Luc Donckerwolke, who recently joined the company. The G90 is 5205mm long - so slightly longer than a regular Mercedes S-Class but shorter than that car's long-wheelbase version.The cabin features plenty of technology, including a 12.3in high-definition screen in the centre of the fascia, three-zone climate control, wireless mobile phone chargers and a driver's seat with 22 areas of adjustment. In Korean-market cars the driver's seat will feature what Hyundai claims is the worl

VW Microbus to go electric at CES tech show
The Bulli, first seen in 2011, could provide inspiration for new concept
Classic Camper van will return with all-electric derivative to showcase VW's vision for autonomous tech, safety and connectivity
The Volkswagen Microbus will make another return with an electric concept at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month, prior to an official announcement confirming the iconic van’s return to the German car maker’s line-up.Described as a close preview to a planned production version of the Microbus to be produced at Volkswagen’s Puebla factory in Mexico from 2017, the concept is set to showcase a newly developed electric drive system among other contemporary connectivity technologies.The zero local emission driveline, which relies on the Volkswagen Group’s latest lithium-ion battery technology as used by the Audi R8 E-Tron and Audi Q6 E-Tron Quattro concept, is claimed to provide a range of between 400 and 500km (250-310 miles) depending on the driving conditions.The German manufacturer, which is seeking to rebuild its reputation in the wake of the emissions scandal, will show off the car during a keynote speech by Herbert Diess, head of passenger cars f